Same-day delivery continues to gain steam as Uber jumps aboard

Feeling under the weather and need an over-the-counter medication delivered to your door or diapers for the little one? Call Uber.

That’s right. Uber, a taxi app company, has announced that it is experimenting with a drug store shopping and delivery service in a limited area to Washington, D.C., residents.

What does it mean for pharmacy retailers? Well, one thing that’s for sure is that if Uber’s service takes off and becomes standard (Uber has said that “the more you love it, the more likely it will last”), it could help pharmacy retailers better compete with rivals who are beefing up their same-day delivery offerings.

For example, Amazon currently serves 12 markets with a same-day delivery service, and even extends that service to the weekends in certain parts of Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle. In addition, Walmart To Go is already offering same-day service in three markets — Denver, San Francisco and San Jose — and Target is test-marketing same-day delivery service in Minneapolis, Boston and Miami, reported DSN senior editor Michael Johnsen in a recent article.

According to several industry sources, the momentum is expected to gain steam in the coming years, especially since affluent millennials are showing the greatest interest in same-day delivery.

In fact, as Johnsen reported, a recent RetailNet analysis indicates that AmazonFresh’s same-day delivery service may be able to reach as much as 80% of the population eventually, and as much as 50% in the next 36 months.

So, for those retailers who have not yet waded into the same-day delivery space or are simply dabbling, it is a trend that is not to be underestimated. If the momentum continues, as anticipated, it will become a standard — sooner rather than later.

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